A Look Back, and a Look to the Future

As I look back on 2014 I see a year filled with many new adventures:

• The girls first day at Montessori
• Attempting to potty training a boy (they want to stand! Eek!)
• My first time actually eating sushi (and liking it!)
• SCUBA diving in Jamaica (and LOVING IT!)
• Swimming with the dolphins
• ”Single parenting” for a week while Si was out of town on business
• The kiddos trying crab legs for the first time (check that – hoovering 2 lbs of crab legs)

But it was also a year full of endings….

• My last nursing session with Hudson
• The girls last day at their preschool down the street, and the loss of new friends
• Our last ladies night in our neighborhood (after several awesome neighbors moved away)
• Selling the girls cribs, Hudson’s baby clothes, bottles, and toys
• The realization that I will probably never have another itty bitty baby of my own to snuggle, nurse, or wake up to at 3 AM.

“The ending of an era, and the turning of a page” as Tim McGraw would say…

So what is my focus for 2015? 

I saw a blog post a couple of years ago (when I still had the time to read blogs daily) where the writer chose a word or two to focus on for the upcoming New Year.  I think it’s a great idea, and I’ve decided to take on the challenge.  My word for 2015 is JOY.  I am going to make it my mission in 2015 to find JOY not only in the things I do, but especially within my interactions with my children.

Like any parent, I get frustrated with my feisty, often back-talking 4 year olds, and it keeps me from focusing on the good that they bring to my life.  It is amazing to see the world through the eyes of a child.  Christmas was a great example of that.  Oh how their eyes lit up when they met Santa and again Christmas morning when they opened their gifts – AMAZING! 

This year I intend to focus on understanding my children, their needs and aspirations, and try to harness the JOY that they bring me each day.  It’s difficult to parent toddlers and preschoolers.  I know it is.  But truthfully it’s not going to be anything compared to parenting teenagers.  I am not looking forward to that one bit.  I can truly see the importance of shaping and reinforcing now the behaviors I want them to display in the future, while I still can. 

To be perfectly honest, changing their behavior means checking my own behavior at the door before trying to correct theirs.  I have this habit of yelling at my kiddos when they aren’t listening.  Sound familiar?  Yelling at my children doesn’t stop them from yelling, or make them listen to what I am saying.  Instead, it shows them that it is okay to yell when they are upset, and it may even show them a “scary” side of mommy.  That’s not how I want my kids to see me.  I want them to see me as someone they can trust, someone they can talk to about anything, someone they can bring their concerns to. Not someone who is going to yell at them or blow them off because I am frustrated, busy doing something else, or don’t care what they have to tell me (for the 7^th time today). 

I hope to show my children more patience.  And I hope to be able to spend time with them while they still want to spend time with me.  I know my time is growing short to be able to spend good old fashioned quality time with my kids.  They will soon be introduced to the world of school, commitments, and ultimately other kids.  I want to make sure my kids really know that I love them and want to be with them and think they are great! It shouldn’t be too hard of a goal to reach, right?

Here’s to 2015!

What is your word (or words) for 2015?  Why did you choose it?

Until next time –

Megan